Marker for cylindrical articles



July 5, 1960 R. A. PANNIER ETAL 2,943,561

MARKER FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed Aug. 5, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. RALPH A. Pnmwsz 4H0 711E142 Arrozusv y 1960 R. A PANNIER ETAL 2,943,561

MARKER FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 5. 1957 INVENTOR. RALPH A. PANNIEQ Ana glans: E. MAzr/u 771;: A rrasugr July 5, 1960 Filed Aug. 5, 1957 Fig. 9

R. A. PANNIE/R ETAL MARKER FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENT R. EAL PH A .Pxwmse 1?: 650/2 5 EMAET/M THE/E A rraeusy July 5, 1960 R. A. PANNIER ETAL 2,943,561

MARKER FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed Aug. 5, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTO RALPH APAuu/zz no 5012 E. MA em:

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MARKER FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed Aug. 5, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 .INVENTOR. RALPH A. PALM/IE2 Am:

37 4224: 5. Mam-w MWQ MJ i 7745/: A rrcnue'v MARKER FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Ralph A. Pannier, McCaudless Township, Allegheny County, and George E. Martin, Pittsburgh, Pa., assign- MS to The Pannier Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 5, 1957, Ser. No. 676,182

1 Claim. (Cl. 101-40) This invention relates generally to a marker for cylindrical articles and more particularly to motor driven markers.

The marker disclosed in our Patent 2,492,709 presents several problems owing to the manner that the ink is supplied to the ink fountain. The fast drying inks employed today fills and cakes the pores of a roll fountain that contains the ink and depends upon the ink seeping through the ink pad cover on the roll. Again such rolls make it difficult to replenish the ink and they are supported in a position that is impractical to continuously ink them as they are in the plane of the marker.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a marking device that continuously wets the ink fountain in readiness for instant use.

Another object is the provision of a marking device wherein the article to be marked trips the drive circuit of the marker and moves it over the inking fountain and into marking position before the article arrives to be marked by the freshly inked marker. This requires an initiator to start the cycle, causing the marker to be inked, then reset at the marking position, inking the article then setting the circuit up so that the next article can start the same cycle.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following description and claim.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification without limiting the invention or claims thereto, certain practical embodiments illustrating the principles of this invention wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a marker having a single ink fountain.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of a marker having two fountains.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view showing a marker having a chain fountain drive and a gear driven marker drum drive.

Fig. 6 is an end view in elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an end view partly in section showing a multiple wheel marker.

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 7 with a modified ink transfer roller.

Referring to Fig. 1, the marking device is mounted on the bed plate 1 which is supported in the tube mill at the proper elevation so that the table as indicated by the rails 2 of the marking device is slightly under the transfer rails that form the table carrying the cylindrical stock such as tubing. and pipe down an inclined plane and after it has. passed the marking station it proceeds to storage. or delivery.

The marking table '2 is formed by the two independent bracket members that are adjustably positioned by the bolts 3. These table sections are separated from each States atent other to expose the die which is indicated at 4. The die in turn is mounted on the flexible belt member 5 which extends around the spaced pulleys 6 and 7 that are mounted on the shaft bolt members 8 and 9 which in turn are carried by the base supports 10 extending upwardly from the base member 1.

The cylindrical article to be marked is indicated by the collar member 11, which in this instance is shown to be supported by the table members 2 as it is sufficiently light to be carried by this structure. However if it were a heavy tubing the table members 2 would be slightly below the rails forming the transfer table to carry the pipe.

An adjustable stand 12 is slidable back and forth under the guides 13 in order to adjustably support the inking fountain 14 which is represented by the ink pickup roll 15 that is suspended in ink in the well 16 and continuously engages the transfer inking roll 17, which in turn is in proximity to engage the surface or" the die 4- as it is carried around by the belt 5 but it is in spaced relation from the belt 5. Thus the adjustment of the stand 12 may be carefully made so that the proper pressure of theinking transfer roller is made on the die without engaging the surface of the belt 5. This adjustment is made by the screw members as indicated at 18.

The transfer roll 17 is mounted on the shaft 26 which extends laterally from the fountain 14 and is provided with a pulley member 21 which in turn is engaged by the belt 22 as illustrated in Fig. 2 and passes over the takeup pulley 23, the transfer drive pulley 21, and travels over the pulley 24 and thence back to the takeup pulley 23, the pulley 24 being mounted on the drive shaft 25 of the motor 26. The belt 22 may also be a chain, in which case the pulleys 21, 23 and 24 are sprockets. By this means the drive sprockets 21 of the ink transfer roll 17 may be driven at all times and owing to its surface engagement with the ink pickup roll 15, the latter is likewise driven all the time.

The drive and clutch mechanism of Fig. l is hidden by the housing 27. However the control panel is enclosed in the box as indicated at 28 and the main switch supplies energy to the marking device as indicated at 29.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 it will be noted that the adjustment screw 30 controls the pressure exerted 1 by the ink pickup roll 15 in its surface engagement with the transfer roll 17. It will also be noted in these views that the belt 5 has a backup plate or shoe 32 which is adjustably mounted by the bolts 33 in the brackets 34 secured to the side plate 35 and as shown in Fig. 4 the ing die, which is a rubber snap-on die, be under some compression when engaged by the article to be marked as it rolls thereover.

As shown in Fig. 2 the pulley member 6 is provided with a sprocket member 37 for receiving the chain 38 which passes over the take-up idler roll 39 and is passed around the drive sprocket 4-0 that is mounted on the shaft 41. The shaft 41 is carried by the suitable bearings 42 and has one end extending into the housing 43 in which is enclosed the brake mechanism 44- and a clutch mechanism 45 which connects the same to the shaft 25.

When it is desired to stop the movement of the belt with its die thereon and in the proper position the electrically.

actuated 45 is disengaged and the brake 44 is applied simultaneously so that the die stops at substantially the same position after having once been passed around the wheels 6 and 7 and in contact with the transfer ink roll 17. This is accomplished by means of three switch means. One switch means 46 is positioned along the transfer table on which the stock rolls and when it engages the switch 46 the latter connects the clutch 45 and releases the brake 44. Owing to the fact that the motor 26 is continuously operating the belt will be passed in a clockwise direction around the two pulleys 6 and 7 and the face of the die 4 will follow the path indicated by the dotted line 49 and be engaged with the transfer ink roll 17 getting a fresh supply of ink thereon and when it reaches the table 2, the belt will engage the microswitch stop 47 which in turn disengages the clutch 45 and applies the brake 44 simultaneously so that the die will be in its proper position on the table. Just after the die is stopped in its proper position the work reaches the table 2 and rolls over the die 4 and as it leaves the table 2 it engages the trip mechanism or switch 48, which in turn initiates the starting of the next consecutive piece to be marked, which structure is well known in the art which when released will strike the switch 46 "and will again set the die in motion and complete the inking cycle just prior to the time that the body reaches the table 2 wherein it is marked and after it passes off the table 2 the switch 48 again initiates the release of the next consecutive article. In this manner each article is released in timed relation so as to give the marking device time to re-ink the die just prior to the time that the article being marked is about to roll over the same. This insures a fresh supply of quick drying ink and by the time that the device reaches the switch 48 the ink is beginning to become very dry and will not smear.

Sometimes it is desirable to provide a dual ink fountain and such a dual ink fountain is illustrated in Fig. 2 wherein the ink reservoir 16' supports the pickup roll 15' which in turn is adjustably mounted by means of the screw 30 for its contact driving engagement with the ink transfer roll 17 which in turn is mounted on the shaft 20' that is driven through the chain 22 which also engages the sprocket at 21 in its circuit from the drive sprocket 24. This additional ink fountain may be used for the same or multiple markings positioned in parallel on the belt 5. It is also invaluable for marking dies with different colors as certain rows of letters may receive a different color than the other rows wherein the one fountain is employed for one color and the other fountain is employed for the second color. Such inking fountains may of course be multiplied in accordance with the need required.

In the marker as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the belt member 5 has been replaced by the drum member 50 which is supported to rotate on the shaft 51 carried by the bearings 52. The shaft 51 is provided with a gear member 53 that is in mesh with the gear member 54 carried on a shaft 55 and in mesh with the drive gear 56 on the shaft 57, driven by the motor shaft, and which intermediate its ends is provided with the combination clutch and brake member 58. The opposite ends of this clutch and brake member device is the motor shaft 59 that is connected directly to the motor 60 Here again the motor is driven continuously and the drum is intermittently driven just prior to the printing of indicia on a tube so that when it revolves in a clockwise direction as indicated the die 4 will engage the transfer roll 17 which is in contact wit-h the ink pickup roll 15 in the fountain member 16. The transfer roll 17 is mounted on the shaft 20, which in turn has the sprocket 21 which is driven through the chain 22 from the drive sprocket 24 and is taken up by the take-up sprocket 23.

A shaft 51 also carries the article support wheels 61 which are placed on opposite sides of the drum 50 and are slightly smaller in diameter than the extent of the die 4 so as to partially support the article such as indicated at 62 as it rolls over the die. As shown in Fig. 5 the articles coming down the table 66 and striking the switch member 46 cause the drum 50 to be rotated to ink the die and reposition the same by the stop limit member indicated at 47 and place the die 4 in the proper position for inking, which is just below the rails of the table 66, and which permit the articles 62 to roll over the die and down on the lower rails indicated at 63. In this manner the wheels 61 guide and support the article as it rolls over the die surface and the die surface may be positioned within limits of the top or zero degrees of the drum to approximately 40 from this top position, the die 4 being indicated in an intermediate position.

In the structure shown in Figs. 7 and 8 the single drum or belt member has been replaced by a series of printing wheel members indicated at 64, 65, 67 and 68 inclusive. Each wheel member has indicia such as numeral digits and letters that may be indexed at different positions relative to each other for the purpose of counting or printing on the article consecutive numbers in counting those which have been passed over the marking station. In other respects this marking device is somewhat different than those described in the previous views. These dies on the wheels can have progressive numbers which step around by the operation of the shaft 71), or the dies may be selective markings for different items and selectively positioned from a remote station by the shaft 70. The printed wheel members are supported from the shaft 70 and the inking fountain 16 with its pickup roll 15 is mounted on the shaft 20 supported by the bearings 71 and connected through the coupling 72 to the shaft extending from the speed reducer 73, the speed reducer 73 being driven by the motor 74. Here the motor has a positive drive for the pickup roller 15 is on the shaft 20. The pickup roll 15 in the ink container 16 is continuously driven by the speed reducer 73 so as to provide continuous rotation when it is in engagement with the ink transfer roll 17. The transfer roll 17 is mounted for rotation on the shaft 77 supported at the end of the arm 78 pivoted on the stub pivot shaft 79 on one side of the wheels. The arm 78 extends below their pivot shaft 79 and is connected by the pivot member 80 to the arm 81 that is on the end of the piston 82 operable in the cylinder 83. Thus by energizing cylinder 83 with a pneumatic pressure, the arm 78 is swung in a counterclockwise direction causing the transfer wheel 17 to roll over the indicia in the form of a. die member as indicated at 4 at the top of the wheels 64, 65, 67 and 68 and for the purpose of inking the same. The ink transfer roll 17 thus passes beyond the position of the die member 4 and then is returned to the position where it is in constant engagement with the rotary pickup roll 15. The arm is provided with a stop member 84 that is adjustable for the purpose of determining the pressure that the transfer roll 17 has in its engagement with the pickup roll 15.

The pneumatic cylinder 83 is pivoted at its opposite end as indicated at 85. This double-acting air cylinder thus functions to provide quick inking by rolling the transfer roll over and back across the die before the article can be engaged by the same. The die being held in the position as shown is at the printing position or table such as indicated at 2 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to Fig. 9 the series of wheels 64, 65, 67 and 68 mounted on the shaft 70 each independently carry indicia that forms the printing die 4. The inking transfer roll 17 supported on the carriage member has laterally disposed rollers 91 operating in the track member 92. When the carriage 90 is retracted by means of the piston rod 82 operating in the cylinder 83, it retracts the carriage and the roller 17 to the position indicated at 93 Where the roller 17 may engage the pickup roller- 16 mounted on the shaft 94 and driven by means of the motor 95 through the belt 96. This structure merely indicates that different characters of mechanisms may be employed to actuate the transfer inking roll 17 from the fountain as indicated at 16 to the position where it transfers the ink to the die member 4.

We claim:

A device for marking cylindrical articles rolling along a table comprising a printing station on said table, support means at said printing station, an endless belt mounted on spaced wheels carried by said support means, a shoe to support said =belt between said wheels, 21 printing die carried on said belt and to rest over said shoe when engaged by a cylindrical article rolling over said die at the printing station, drive means for said belt to present and stop said die on said shoe at said printing station, an inking roller mounted to apply ink to said die when said belt is driven, and means actuated by the movement of each article across said table to operate 15 2,716,941

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,501,817 Sevigne July 15, 1924 2,172,318 Ferguson Sept. 5, 1939 2,424,006 Verrinder July 15, 1947 2,635,532 Stewart Apr. 21, 1953 2,635,533 Stewart Apr. 21, 1953 2,645,174 Levin July 14, 1953 Hattman Sept. 6, 1955 

